Okoh Tasks Newly-elected Political Leaders On Good Governance

PRIMATE of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Rev Nicholas Okoh, has urged the newly elected public office holders at all levels to provide good governance and make sacrifices for Nigerians and the survival of the country.

Speaking at the end of a one week programme, tagged, ‘Way of the Cross,’ with the theme, ‘A New Beginning,’ in Abuja, Okoh noted that things would not be very good for any community or household without anybody that is willing to make sacrifice, so that others can get up.

He insisted that for the country to experience a new beginning, people must deny themselves, so that it shall be well with others, recalling that God denied himself, so that it shall be well with us, saying it is about self-sacrifice for individuals and for the nation.

The primate, who decried the killings and other anomalies experienced during the general elections, said: “If the Lord had not had mercy on us, we will not be where we are now today.

“Old things have not been jettisoned, people can still carry ballot boxes and kill others. We have lost humanity in us, we no longer have regards for the humanity that is part and parcel of us and on Sundays, we drive to church.

“We want to take people back to the essence of Christian faith. God is just and fair, if you claim to know this God, don’t misrepresent Him.”

The guest speaker for the programme and the retired Bishop of Ondo Province of the Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Gorge Lasebikan, said the challenge before the newly-elected leaders is to make Nigeria better. He said: “We observed that those who are serving are serving themselves and Nigerians are suffering in their teeming millions. Maybe because they are at the top, they are not seeing what is on the ground.

“Leaders must aspire to serve the people. If it is taking us decades to decide that minimum wage should be N30, 000 and you compare that with what our senators are earning, it is unthinkable that we have been struggling over a minimum wage. It means something is fundamentally wrong with us.

“Those at the top should ensure they serve the people and not themselves. Everybody must know that God wants to start something new in this nation. We have new hopes and expectations.”